3 Lifestyle "Prescriptions" To Help Heal Your Adrenals & Slow Aging

In addition to foods, supplements and exercises, lifestyle changes are also necessary to heal your adrenals. Here are three things I want you to incorporate into your days and weeks to speed and aid the process:

1. Laughter

A hearty laugh actually changes your brain waves and the chemistry of your body, and it does heal. I tell my patients to rent funny movies, and to laugh even if it seems insincere at first. Try it, and you'll see that it can start to become second nature.

Once a week minimum, spend time with friends. Make sure they're not "energy suckers," however. We all have people we care about a lot, but when we leave them we feel tired. They drain us. Get together with friends who make you feel energized after you see them. Before you say yes to a social engagement, ask yourself, "Will this event and the people involved stress me or bless me?"

Recognize other energy robbers (like the phone) and eliminate those, too. Don't keep the cell on all the time. It seems we have a compulsion to check our phones, but we have to discipline ourselves to stop the phone from taking over our lives. The minute you keep checking your emails, you have surrendered your day to someone else's agenda, not yours. If you set the intention, you do it. Check your email twice a day—that's all. Look at your phone twice a day. Never let electronic devices interrupt a conversation with a real human being.

2. Gratitude

We used to think love was the most powerful emotion. It isn't; it's gratitude. Find out what you're grateful for by paying attention.

Write down one thing you're grateful for every day. Send the words in an email to someone or write it down in a journal. Happiness is a choice—and you can train your brain to be happy.

My neighbor is a busy surgeon in Seattle and has a lot going on. He's forty-three, and he's on medication for high cholesterol. While discussing the importance of movement and exercise, he said to me, "I thought of running, but I have no time." He gets up at 5 a.m. to make his rounds and dictate, followed by surgery. What he does do is turn on the shower in the morning. While it's warming up, he does push-ups and pull-ups and stretches. He says, "I know it's just four or five minutes, but it's really made a difference. I'm stronger."

I stretch my calves and hamstrings while I brush my teeth every day. It's built-in. I never forget, because brushing is my cue.